I'll Fix It
by Mistress of Azure
Summary: Ryou comments on his life to a mysterious boy, who promises to fix it. What can he mean? As his life begins to unravel, Ryou has to choose between what he had, and what he has. HIATUS


Before I begin another pointless tale, I feel the need to include something that will bore most of you to an early grave. If you would rather read the story instead of the inner workings of my mind, just skip down to the line of stars, 'k?

Today I was asked a question by my dear friend, Amaya-kitty. She asked me why I write and why I post my writings. 

I, Miss Charlie Alexander Azure Shadows, have come to a conclusion. I know that no one cares about my conclusion, but I am putting it here because I _can_ put it here, and since I have nowhere else to put it. 

My conclusion is thus: I am a Bad Writer. I have no reason to post my writings here, or anywhere because I am a Bad Writer. You may be wondering why I am posting _this_ story if I have no reason to. 

And I have come to another conclusion that provides a slightly complicated answer: I want to. I am just about the most stubborn person you will meet. I love to write, even if it's bad. I will never expect anyone to like my writings – don't get me wrong, it's great if you do – but I don't _expect_ it. 

And I don't care. I hate keeping secrets. I want everyone to have the chance to read what I write, love or hate it. Most _won't_, but they _can_. 

So I _will_ continue to sit here every Saturday night, play my music, and drink my powdered coffee substitute, and I _will_ write bad stories. And if you have a problem with it, tough. There is really nothing you can do about it, except not read it. And you know I don't care. 

So there. 

I win.

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Japanese

Ja ne: Later; see you later

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Disclaimer: No own. Just borrowing. I do own Satu, though. (Note: Amaya-kitty told me Satu looked like Harry Potter, so I made his hair brown. But this is NOT a crossover by any means. 

Repeat: NOT A CROSSOVER!

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I'll Fix It

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A short cry passed Ryou's lips was shoved roughly against the wall. His arm was twisted at an odd angle behind his back and held in place by one of the cackling bullies. He shut his eyes tightly as he was pressed into the brick, feeling it scrape his skin as he struggled. He could hear them laughing and could easily imagine their triumphant smirks. 

"All right. Let me handle it now." Ryou was abruptly spun around and slammed into the wall again. There was a dull crack as his skull met brick, and he slid to the ground dizzy and disoriented. 

A shadow fell on him and he looked up through blurry eyes. The figure of the gang leader loomed over him, grinning and clutching a rusty switchblade. "Well, well, look at this." He chuckled darkly as he crouched by the dazed boy. "If it isn't my favorite little punching bag." 

Placing the flat of the blade under Ryou's chin, he forced his head up to look at him. "It's certainly been a while, hasn't it? Longer than usual. Now, why is that?" He pretended to think as the rest of the group jeered. "Oh, yeah, that's right. It's 'cause last time, you _got aw_ay." He whipped the blade upwards, cutting a deep gash across Ryou's cheek. He winced, heart racing. 

The blood dripped down his face, staining his silver hair crimson. 

"I'm not happy about that, you know." The thug glanced around at his lackeys. "In fact, none of us were happy about it. Not at all. So we got together and we all decided that this time, you deserve something _special_." The goon's laughter increased, and their apparent amusement did nothing to set the youth's mind at ease. He was shaking with fear, a fact the leader was quick to notice. 

His leering grin widened further, revealing a set of grimy teeth that boasted each color of the rainbow. "Oh, don't be scared. We're not gonna _kill_ you or anything. That wouldn't be fun at all. Who would we beat up then?" he said innocently. The gang roared, egging him on. "No, no, nothing like that. This time," he paused, "This time we think we're gonna break both your legs. That way, you can't run away, see?"

Ryou's eyes widened briefly before he shut them tightly. This couldn't be happening to him. It was a dream. If it were real, Bakura would save him.

But no, his heart sinking, he realized that the spirit was resting in his soul room and had unconsciously shut off the link between them. Unable to call out to him, or make contact at all, he realized that he was completely alone. 

The bully had stood up now, and he smirked before hauling the smaller teen to his feet by the collar of his school uniform. Ryou braced himself for the blow, but it never came. 

"Run."

Ryou blinked in confusion. The bully snorted impatiently. "I _said_, run. It's more fun that way. Besides, it worked last time, didn't it?" He grinned mockingly. "I'll give you a head start. One…"

Ryou wanted very much to make good on this offer, but found himself rooted to the spot. He was paralyzed with fear. 

"Two."

He bolted. He could hear their mocking laughter echoing in his ears, and shut his eyes against tears threatening to spill. In retrospect, he decided that had he not done this, the whole ordeal might have been avoided. As it was though, he did, and it wasn't. 

He tripped over a brick that had fallen loose from the crumbling alley wall and landed face down on the trash covered ground, further cutting his face and scraping his hands and knees on the rough ground. He wondered why he had to end up in this alley, the one left in the area that hadn't yet been cleaned up by the city workers. _Our tax dollars at work_, he thought cynically. Behind him came the bully's voice. 

"Seven! Eight!"

Ryou struggled in vain to stand. Backing into a wall, he took a quick moment to reflect on his life. It hadn't been that bad, had it?

"Nine!"

Yes, it had. 

"Ten!"

The bully charged forward with every intention of socking Ryou in the gut, but didn't make it two steps as a small rock was aimed at his forehead. Taken completely off guard, the previously fearsome bully tripped over his own feet and found himself sprawled rather comically on the alley floor. The voices of his gang rose again in laughter, but were quickly silenced as the force behind the stone became apparent. 

"Beat it, goons. You're no longer needed here." They paled. 

"Oh, shit! It's him!"

"Let's get out of here!"

"H-hey! Get back here you wimps!" The leader shouted as he scrambled to his feet. His cries fell on deaf ears as his followers hurried to put distance between them and this new threat. He spun around to face the newcomer, who was striding towards him. "You don't scare me. I can take you," he said defiantly. 

His voice shook.

The other boy smiled with amusement. "Oh, really? You and what army?" He looked over the bully's shoulder. "Looks as if yours ran away. Why don't you be intelligent for once and follow them? I'll give you a head start," he offered sweetly. "One…" 

"I'm not afraid of a brat like you!" 

The teen smiled through half lidded eyes. "Two…"

Terror thumbed its nose at Pride, and the bully took off.

The boy laughed after him, before turning to Ryou. The smile promptly fell as he hurried to his side. "Are you okay?" he asked as he helped the hikari to his feet. 

Ryou blinked a few times, as his vision was still blurry from his unfortunate meeting with the wall, and took his first look at his savior. 

The boy appeared to be the same age as Ryou, sixteen or seventeen, but he was slightly taller. Messy dark brown hair at chin length framed a handsome face and brought out the intensity of deep emerald eyes. He wore ragged blue jeans, faded with age, and a black jacket over a deep burgundy tee shirt. 

Ryou stared at him, bewildered. He didn't _look_ intimidating. Just the opposite, he looked like the kind of person that was everyone's best friend. "How did you…?"

The boy shrugged. "I guess I've got a reputation around here. Kick their butts and leave them for dead just once, and they never bother you again." His easy grin reminded Ryou of Joey, and he couldn't help smiling back. "My name's Satu."

"I'm Ryou. Thank you for helping me."

"It was nothing. Do you live near here? I'll walk you home."

Picking up his bag, Ryou noted with disappointment that the strap had broken. Satu saw this and took it from him. He smiled at the other teen. "Don't worry. I'm really good at fixing things. I'll fix it for you." Ryou started to protest, but Satu ignored him. He fiddled with it, and a moment later handed it back to Ryou with a triumphant smile. 

Ryou stared. The strap was firmly in place again, with no evidence that it had been broken. "How did you do that?"

The other boy just smiled. "I'm really good at fixing things," was his only answer.

The two walked in silence for a while, enjoying the peace of the neighborhood. A few minutes later Satu glanced over at Ryou curiously. "Hey, why were those thugs hassling you anyway? What did you do?" 

"I didn't do anything. They just like beating me up, that's all. And it's not like they're the only ones. All the jerks at school do it too." Satu seemed surprised. 

"Why don't you tell anyone? What about your friends?"

"There's no point. They couldn't do anything about it, except make it worse. Besides, I don't really have any friends. I mean I do, but I don't think they really care. They only notice me if I'm trying to kill them or something." Why was he telling him all this? He had barely met the guy and already he was dumping his troubles on him. 

Satu seemed to think of something. "Where do you go to school?" Ryou told him. "Domino High?! That's like two miles away! You walk there every day? Why can't your parents give you a ride?"

"My dad's an archaeologist. He's always out of the country on one of his precious digs, so I'm on my own ninety-nine percent of the time. My mother died in a car wreck when I was ten." Satu blushed with embarrassment. 

"Oh, I'm so sorry." He touched Ryou's arm. "Was she pretty?" he asked quietly. Ryou nodded and dug his wallet out of his book bag. He turned to a picture of a beautiful young woman with long blonde hair and stormy gray eyes. "Wow. You must miss her a lot." 

He nodded again. "After Mom and Amane died, Dad buried himself in work. I hardly ever see him now." 

Satu looked at him questioningly. "Amane? Was she your sister?" 

"Uh-huh. She was in the accident with Mom. She was seven." Satu was about to apologize again, but Ryou waved him off. "The worst part was losing Dad. He's still alive, but he's just…" he paused, holding back tears. "He called a while back, to see how I was doing, and it was like he didn't know who he was talking to…he even forgot my name." 

Satu looked alarmed. "Oh, Ryou…" He tried to change the subject a little. "Was Amane pretty? Did she have pale hair like you and your mother?" His companion smiled. 

"Yes, she was pretty, but no, her hair was dark like Father's. Long and dark and fine. She wore it up in a ponytail all the time." He laughed. "She played with her hair all the time, but she loved to play with mine even more. She would make me sit for hours so she could brush my hair and put it in pigtails and braids. She would put ribbons and barrettes in it. And mother just laughed…" he trailed off with a distant smile. 

"You really loved them." It was not a question. Satu smiled sadly, but Ryou didn't see it. Such thoughts were bringing forth memories of his own. Memories of that boy, and that girl. Had it been that long? What he would give…

A moment later, Ryou stopped in front of a large apartment building. "This is my house. Thank you again, Satu." Satu smiled. 

"No problem. I couldn't just let them beat you up, could I?" Ryou scoffed. 

"Of course you could. It wouldn't be the first time." He stared down at his shoes. "Gods, I hate my life…" he muttered, not realizing Satu could hear him. 

Satu stood for a moment, considering this statement. He couldn't…well, theoretically, he _could_, but he shouldn't. One should never tempt Fate as he could. He took another long look at the boy before him. How he reminded him of that child! The pain and sorrow was etched on his face as clear as a scar. He meant what he had said. Satu had only met a few people as worthy of a better life as Ryou. He knew what consequences would come from his actions, but…

Looking at this boy, it suddenly didn't matter.

He made up his mind and grabbed Ryou's hand. "It's okay. I'll fix it for you."

The teen stared at him in bewilderment. "What do you mean?"

"I'll fix it. I'm good at fixing things." 

Ryou was confused. "You'll fix what?" 

Satu just smiled cryptically. "I like you Ryou. I really do. Don't worry. I'll fix it for you. I'll fix it all."

And then he was gone, leaving Bakura Ryou to wonder what, exactly, he was planning to fix.

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And that is chapter one! What do you think? Did it suck? *coughtotallycough* Remember, I don't care, so be brutally honest. 

Ja ne!

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